The Mayapple Schoolhttp://www.mayapple.org
Creative, place-based education in the New River ValleyFri, 24 May 2019 18:38:32 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.1.26On Environmental Grief and Hopehttp://www.mayapple.org/on-environmental-grief-and-hope/
http://www.mayapple.org/on-environmental-grief-and-hope/#commentsSat, 12 Jan 2019 23:00:38 +0000http://www.mayapple.org/?p=911Recently, The Mayapple School moved over the mountain from its original home in historic Newport Read More ...

]]>Recently, The Mayapple School moved over the mountain from its original home in historic Newport in Giles County to Blacksburg, Virginia. We were pushed out of Newport by The Mountain Valley Pipeline, a 300+ mile long, 42” diameter, high-pressure natural gas transmission line that is being built right behind our (now former) school building. Being within the “blast zone,” of this pipeline means that should an accident occur, the results would not include survival. So, we left.

This was not a simple move. As a nature-based preschool, we deliberately design our program to nourish a connection to wild places; the development of a love for nature is at our forefront. Last spring, construction within sight of our school began, and the results were devastating. In two days, a wide swath of mountainside was hastily cleared, fallen trees lying one upon another in what seemed like senseless destruction. Clouds of smoke billowing from fires set nearby added to the sense of disaster, war declared on the earth we live on. Construction upstream turned Greenbrier Creek from clear to muddy, then back again. Each new proof of construction seemed like an assault.

As a teacher, I knew I had a responsibility to my students who had so come to love “their” forest. We had created a culture where students saw themselves as creators, protagonists of their own story. Even when the students became interested in flying, I never told them, “You can’t fly.” Instead we delved into some of the ways people have been captured by the imagination of flight for centuries past, from kites to drones, and we flew through this experience. When students told me they couldn’t climb up a steep hill, my exact words of encouragement were: “You can do hard things.” With this attitude, students set about trying to solve this latest problem with ideas like: What if we built a fence around the trees… What if we told them we loved the trees and we don’t want them to cut them down… What if we plant some more… What if we told them they could cut six trees but they had to leave the rest…. It was heartbreaking to hear them ask “Why?” in such a way that you knew no answer could be good enough.

Like other early childhood environmental educators, at The Mayapple School educators subscribe to the philosophy that children first need opportunities to love the Earth before being asked to save it. Telling a young child about burning rainforests and other acts of mass destruction creates a sense of hopelessness and ultimately disconnect, as smart children (and they are all smart) realize that turning off the light when they leave the room and using cloth grocery bags is not, in fact, going to save the world. When Mayapple students were forced to witness first-hand environmental destruction of places they loved, I didn’t know how to make it OK for them, and I felt like a failure. When story time was interrupted by the buzz of chainsaws followed by the thud of a tree… again and again… I truly did not know what to tell the children.

Later that spring it all came to a head for me when I attended a weekend conference for early childhood environmental educators. Everyone seemed so excited about sharing their love of nature with children and building a sense of place in their special wild spaces. Meanwhile, I was trying to figure out how to help children leave their special places—which felt like they were being ripped away from us. I cried a lot that weekend. My immediate reality underscored the reality of worldwide problems I would read about, and I felt again like the helpless nine-year-old told to turn off the light to save the rainforest. Some people believe that a sense of unease underlies our entire society, and that this unease is based upon our deep, core knowledge of the unsustainable way that we are treating the Earth (and thus, our ability to survive upon it for much longer). Yet, to do my job well, I must believe in the possibility of human harmony with the rest of the Earth, not calculate, organize, itemize, and agonize over all the ways in which this is not yet true. (It may be that this possibility will ultimately rest with the children we teach, and so yes, I must believe that it is important that I do my job well.)

During this conference, I talked with Vermont educator Amy Butler about her experiences using nature to help children deal with trauma (having a massive flood destroy much of their town). I had also recently heard from educator David Sobel via e-mail who emphasized in his advice to me the importance of “vehicles for memorialization,” in helping children deal with environmental trauma. The Mayapple students also helped to show me what they needed themselves, through spontaneous song-making, drawings, and dramatic play.

Somehow, we made it from that spring until our move and the opening of our new site just a few days ago. I was and am thankful for protestors, lawmakers, and questioning citizens who helped push against the Mountain Valley Pipeline, which has caused it many delays. Behind the school, virtually no more construction after the cutting of the trees has yet occurred, (although it has progressed further at other road crossings). This fall, we were able to enjoy what was left of “our” forest, rather than be continually faced with more devastation. This brief respite meant that our youngest students in their first year of preschool didn’t really know why we were leaving. As we prepared to leave, I wanted to shelter them from unnecessary knowledge of environmental destruction (as per the reasoning above) yet still address our older student’s feelings and everyone’s attachment. In addition to our activities the previous spring, we took pictures of our favorite places, made a point to say goodbye to each special place, collected rocks to take with us to our new school as reminders of the old one, showed students pictures of our new home, and planned many versions of students’ dream playgrounds for our new location. Students also participated in creating a video for fundraising for the move to our new location, which you can view here.

Maybe I didn’t do everything right, and in fact I worry that we left with too great a sense of loss, that children felt unable to protect the place that they had come to love. But unexpectedly, our first few days here at our new site have held a healing sense for us, and I’m beginning to realize that our work of moving on might be just beginning.

This first week at our new school, a meadow vole ran out from its home. Confused in the daylight, it ran around in circles around our feet, yet not a child screamed, chased it, or attempted it harm. As we stood in a circle talking about the vole, I watched the children watch this creature so different from them; I heard one say, “The meadow vole is our friend,” and I felt like maybe things would be okay.

These children, embracing the world, open and ready to love, believe that anything is possible. And maybe, one thing I can do right is believe in that too.

]]>http://www.mayapple.org/on-environmental-grief-and-hope/feed/0Eight Forest Activities to Create Comfort in Naturehttp://www.mayapple.org/eight-forest-activities-to-create-comfort-in-nature/
http://www.mayapple.org/eight-forest-activities-to-create-comfort-in-nature/#commentsWed, 21 Mar 2018 13:31:31 +0000http://www.mayapple.org/?p=837Fifteen children cross the wooden bridge over the creek and wend their way up a Read More ...

]]>Fifteen children cross the wooden bridge over the creek and wend their way up a steep switchback into the forest. Soon they’ll be immersed in a self-created game of “Castle and Dragons,” taking breaks to exclaim over found mushrooms and animal tracks. Letting the children loose to create their own rich play worlds is a dreamy reality, possible only when children are comfortable being in the forest.

As a teacher, I do have the sense that I can’t fully plan our forest adventures, whether play session or hike, because nature and our nature discoveries change with each visit. I’m also aware that I shouldn’t always try to plan for children’s play and experiences, because their own planning is what builds important executive functioning skills. But when children are first introduced to wild places, they need to build their comfort levels before they can take on this kind of play. Building comfort levels is something you can plan for, and I’ve included a few forest activities that have worked for The Mayapple School students below.

Feel free to use this as a resource for your own planning or as a reminder to jot down your own thoughts about what has worked for your group. I always think I’ll remember what I’ve learned the previous school year, but after a few Augusts spent thinking, “Now, how did I do that again?” I know better. Hopefully this list will help!

Eight Forest Activities That Help Create Children Who are Comfortable in Nature

Read a book – Before I began taking preschoolers into the forest, I read somewhere the idea that to hold a program in nature, you couldn’t just take what you were doing inside and bring it outside—a real nature program would be fundamentally different. When it actually comes time to implement your program, this statement is intimidating. Feel free to ignore it. Taking the things you do inside and bringing them outside will help create instant comfort for your child or students. A familiar book or favorite game brings familiarity to the unknown. Just be very aware it’s a lot harder to keep track of possessions in the forest! (And yes, with enough experience, your program will evolve so that it doesn’t look the same as just bringing your indoors program outside. But starting from the experience you already have is the perfect start.) There’s also LOTS of wonderful books about the forest, which you can share both while in the forest and before and after visits too.

Have an off-trail picnic – Most children are more comfortable and experienced with trails and open places outdoors, and the first times visiting forest without trails can be very intimidating. Getting to know different pockets of trail-less forest can make traversing them easier. Sharing food with loved ones is one of our most enjoyable everyday activities, and bringing a picnic into the forest not only brings comfort to the unknown, but also gives children time to look around before they are challenged to interact with the environment.

Make a map – Do you remember what it felt like to be in the forest before you had gained environmental literacy? The landscape was an uncomprehending blur of browns and greens, and because you couldn’t “read” even basic environmental cues, you were liable to walk right into briars, get easily turned around and afraid of getting lost, and worry about unknowns like wild animals. One way to increase child confidence is to make a simple relational representation of special spots that you go to in the forest, with a familiar point on the map, too. After you’ve visited a few different places in the forest, you can have children create directions to the day’s chosen destination, using the map. Now, it’s their job to lead you! I’ve found that even those children who had been asking “are we lost?” were able to give me correct directions. Our mapmaking days were among the most important comfort-building days this fall

Bring art materials to the trees – Before environmental literacy, the landscape is a blur. In forest education, you are asking the students to stop and really look at what they see, turning the blur into recognizable forms and patterns. Without some sense of order, there can be no comfort in the environment beyond the reach of the caregiver’s arms (this is true indoors and out). Using a paint brush and non-toxic “mud paint,” with or without added coloring, children enjoy painting the bark of the trees. In this exploration, they get to know the trees in a slowed down, intimate way. Playdough offers similar benefits. Many imprints, like those of ferns and rocks, can be taken and the dough reused—or playdough can be used to make faces on trees and leaf and twig sculptures. The children begin thinking about the available materials in the forest as friendly and useful. Art, like sensory and loose parts play, also allows children to cause changes based on their actions, which can be very empowering.

Build a fort –Building is fun, gets children thinking about forest adventure positively, and the result offers a place for pretend and nature play, a great base for building even more nature comfort. The landscape now has an anchor that is understandable to the child because she created it. Building a fort can be an absorbing endeavor, but also a time intensive one. Unless you have an older child or lots of children, expect to work hard alongside your child while building. As always, children will learn the most if they are involved in the planning process too.

Create a Small World– Small worlds allow the children to experience a lot in a small space with the protection of living semi-vicariously through their small world creatures. Favorite plastic figures such as dinosaurs or woodland mammals are now the ones exploring the landscape. To increase conversation and wow factor, bring baking soda & vinegar volcano materials into the forest with you and make dirt volcanoes as challenges for your small world creatures.

Play Pretend – If you’ve ever watched a group of children play “make believe” before, you’ve probably noticed the enviable state of flow that they can achieve. You want them to experience this flow in the forest, and encouraging pretend play could be the best way to do it. At The Mayapple School, we read a fairy tale or other picture book with a narrative storyline (such as Kate and the Beanstalk) and, with adult facilitation, we ask the students to take on the roles of the characters within the book during their weekly “Play Together Game,” which takes place in the forest. For some students, this is easily their favorite part of school, and it is something that is asked for frequently. You will need more than one child of at least preschool age for this activity, but you can let the forest provide the props.

Look for ___(insert nature item here)____ — Preschoolers at The Mayapple School LOVE guidebooks. They seem to have an insatiable need to name everything and know what it is. Now, I know what you’re going to say. The problem with opening up today’s date in your Nature-Activities-for-Every-Day-Of-The-Year book is that half of the dates ask you to look for turtles, ladybugs, mushrooms, or whatever the nature du jour is. And I can almost hear you crying– “but what if I don’t find anything!” Most of the activities I gave you don’t ask you to look for (or find) anything. But, sometimes it’s worth it to search. One day last spring after a detailed lesson on galls, we went into the forest to look for them. We found literally dozens of galls on that same day, even though we had never found one previously. We hadn’t found them because we weren’t looking, but once we were oriented to look for them, voila! Also, sometimes you just find cool stuff even when you’re not looking, so guidebooks can come in handy. Guidebooks are “real” tools that adults use and they make everything seem scientific. Looking for specific living or nonliving things promotes a sense of discovery, spirit of exploration, and awe in both children and adults.

There are many more activities to do with children in nature. You’ll soon find yourself saying, “How can this (previously indoors) activity be better outdoors?” and experimenting to find out. And soon after that, you’ll let loose your children with nothing but the features of the landscape and each other, and it will be enough to enthrall them in purposeful play until lunch time.

Until then, a caveat about the above activities: every time you visit wild places, you make an impact on them, even if it is just your footprints. Although most ecosystems can handle the impacts of child’s play, it’s important to check with the land owners or stewards to make sure your activity is allowed. Our everyday use of the earth, from driving a vehicle on paved roads to heating our houses and cooking with fossil fuels, impacts the earth much more than playing in the woods with our children could. Yet often these woods must also serve as a nature haven for many more humans than is reasonable to ask of it, as well as animals, and there is often a need to treat certain places very gently as a result.

]]>Well, we did it. The forest isn’t a scary place anymore. Crying, asking for mommy, hiding from lions, asking “are we lost?” 120 times per hour—it’s all over, and it’s only November. Now we have the rest of the school year to enjoy the confidence and comfort we have gained in the wilderness. Just don’t remind me that I have to do it all again next year.

“ Wait— what??? Children cry when you take them into the wilderness? I thought forest preschool was an idyllic wonderland where, playing under the boughs of graceful hemlocks, children are immediately and magically imparted with a mature sense of self control, risk- assessment, and confidence. The fairies themselves whisper ABC’s and 123’s into their ears. And children in the forest certainly never fight! At least, that’s what all of the Forest Kindergarten Blogs say.”

I’m sorry. I’m here to tell you that it’s not quite true. Adjusting to school in the wild takes a certain amount of down-and-dirty grit that has never been asked of most preschoolers before. Some embrace it. Others cry, loudly and with snot streaming out of their noses, as they insist upon tackling the hardest challenges. Others shy away from the challenge of simply being within the trees. They don’t know how to walk on steep ground. And how can it be true that no one is going to carry them, or save them from the challenge? The unfairness overwhelms! And yet, they have no choice but to overcome.

When given the opportunity, children choose challenge. With the absence of branches, children must find small handholds on this rotting stump.

And here’s the thing. They can all do it. They all do. And the rewards ARE endless and almost unbelievable. But it’s not immediate, and it’s not a miracle. And throughout the year, I know that children will still be children. They will miscalculate risk and scrape their knees when they don’t quite make the jump from one stump to another. They will argue about who gets to be first in line on a tight path through the forest. They will all struggle, some for just one day, other continuously – how do I remain focused on this story, behave kindly to my classmates, count just one thing at a time?

So maybe you’ve decided to take your group a little further into the forest, and suddenly bedlam erupts. One child starts crying, insisting she just can’t climb over the log that is in her way. Suddenly, three other children remember that they want their mommies, and start crying too. Some children look on with wide eyes, but another starts running to get away from the noise and trips over a greenbrier. She, of course, starts screaming for a band aide. Then all of the other children want band-aides too. As you give out your entire supply of band aides, you think to yourself: this isn’t what they said it would be like. I must be doing something wrong. Clearly all of the good things children can gain from being in the forest don’t apply to my group. We’re not going in here again.

Please don’t give up. The great benefits of nature immersion do apply to your children. I have a student who, upon seeing the forest for the first time, stopped dead in his tracks, eyes wide, and said “I’m not going in there! There are things in there.” A month later this student was climbing trees, all fear forgotten. This past week he sat down upon the leaves on the forest floor, looked up, and with a broad smile upon his face and completely unprompted, said “I love the forest. I love it in here.”

Students examine two box turtles we found in the forest one morning.

That’s why we do it. As children experience and learn about the forest, they form a whole-self connection to the forest. The forest becomes a place where the mind, body, and spirit can become refreshed. As we learn about and explore the forest, it becomes a place of well-being and a resource that children can tap into, now and forever. The forest is a natural haven for the growing child, and for the adult she becomes. As the forest cares for her, so she too will care for the forest.

In the next blog posts, I will share specific elements of our Forest Education program that helped transform the forest experience for our students. Hopefully you will be able to use some of these ideas where you live or teach, too. So, go on. Buy some more band aides. It’s time to step into the forest again.

]]>http://www.mayapple.org/down-and-dirty-grit/feed/0Into the Foresthttp://www.mayapple.org/into-the-forest/
http://www.mayapple.org/into-the-forest/#commentsSat, 15 Jul 2017 01:01:22 +0000http://www.mayapple.org/?p=755In February, The Mayapple School received permission from the adjoining landowner to explore on and Read More ...

]]>In February, The Mayapple School received permission from the adjoining landowner to explore on and collect nature items from his land. I can’t even really describe those first experiences. They were truly amazing and humbling. It made me realize that nothing can stand in for or simulate the wilderness experience. The heart and soul know what is real, and no amount of pre-selected, teacher-approved nature items brought into the classroom could give these kids that unique sense of risk and trust, challenge and wonder that the forest could. Our neighbor owns many more acres of dense forest than the preschoolers could possibly explore, leading to a sense of limitless, unbounded freedom.

We had stepped into the wild before. The creek that divides our tame field from the forest beyond is quite a wild one, and we had found snakes, voles, crayfish, and frogs along its banks. But not having explored over the creek into the wild forest had kept us grounded in what was tame; one glance over our shoulder and we could reach our small known and civilized world.

After crossing the creek, students change into hiking shoes before heading up the slope.

Going into the forest is different. The wild surrounds us. Some children embrace it from the beginning. Others seem to expend their allotment of bravery and daring more quickly at first, slowly building up stamina as they gain experience. It’s not an easy entry. We have to cross a creek and scramble up a steep bank before reaching the reprieve of a very short old roadbed, which disintegrates quickly, forcing us into the brush towards our next discovery. Each day brings something new: signs of deer like deer bones and scat; a slow-moving box-turtle, lady slipper orchids and bloodroot sprung up seemingly overnight.

On the way up into the forest, eager for the next discoveries

Some of our spots are:

Loglandia, our first big log fallen across the roadbed that beckoned us into the forest and began our forest journey (in the spring, the children also took to calling this the Honeysuckle Tree, from vines that grew around it)

The Treehouse, a tree cut when it was perhaps already hollow inside, leaving an accessible hollow and a strange strip of bark and wood reaching 10 feet vertically above

The Secret Passage Tree, a fallen tree with a gap in the trunk;

Fern Gully, where we also have found many mayapples;

The Graveyard, with graves from the 1850’s, taken over by forest now;

The Old Foundation, perhaps from a house or shed;

The Big Racoon Tree, an uprooted tree over 12 feet in circumference with a hole where “maybe a raccoon lives.”

The terrain is steep and difficult to navigate, and as we’ve explored there have been a couple of days where we have overextended ourselves, attempting to reach a new and unknown area in too short an amount of time. Other days are nothing less than magical. As a teacher, I feel like I’ve only just experienced the very beginnings of what it means to bring children into the forest, but I’ve learned a few things already.

An old cemetery was a surprise discovery one morning.

The main thing I’ve learned is that it is worth it. The packing, the wet feet in the creek, the challenge of maintaining sight lines in brushy forest, the scrapes and scratches from brambles and falls off logs. It is so worth the trouble. Trips to the forest repay students and teachers many times over. Students gain self-confidence, and teachers get to see their students in a new light. Students bond with each other. Teachers enjoy their students more. In the forest, it is so easy to be fully present with the students. It reminds me how to be with children. It makes us all excited to learn more about millipedes or whatever else we find. It stimulates a love of learning and an interest in the world around us. It’s adventurous. It’s fun.

Our “Treehouse” is large enough to fit about half a dozen children inside, while “chairs” outside on the “porch” (the rest of the fallen tree on the ground) offer space for the rest.

I’m looking forward to our new bridge currently being built over the creek, trying out some different activities, and implementing a few different systems to help us increase our forest time and comfort in the forest. I’m pretty sure the forest holds even more discoveries for us next year!

]]>In the parent handbook, we have a clothing chart that breaks down items parents need to provide for their child in rainy, snowy, and fair weather, including a long list of brands to look for and places one could shop. But the choices can be overwhelming, and a definite feeling of “I just want what works; point me in that direction and I will buy it,” can emerge. So, at the risk of sounding mercenary, capitalistic, etc, I want to bring to you some of the best choices parents have made for their children’s outwear that we have seen, plus guidelines that will help you find what you are looking for with other brands or “on-sale” items.

1. Footwear: Footwear is the item that we have had the greatest trouble with, so let’s go ahead and put it first. At The Mayapple School, students may choose to either go barefoot (in warm weather only) or wear close-toed shoes. Students needs shoes for: indoors, creek wading, and other outdoor play (like walking up a hill and climbing on logs on our Forest Field Trips) in warm, cold, dry, and wet weather. At minimum, students will need a pair of:

Slippers or slipper socks for the classroom: Provide shoes that fit and your child will actually wear. Soft soles are fine; no particular brands are recommended.

Neoprene or other waterproof boots rated for the cold: Look for one piece molded footwear with insulated lining, or thick neoprene boots. Boots labeled “water resistant” are not, unfortunately, waterproof, nor are short boots or boots with laces, buckles, velcro, zippers, a soft top, or any other sort of closure or membrane where water can seep in, even if they are labeled “waterproof.” Hands down, the best boots are Muck Boots such as these Kids’ Arctic Adventure Boots. Oakiwear Neoprene Rain/Snow Boots and Bogs Kids’ Classic High Boots are perfectly fine alternatives. Some Kamik models, such as Kamik Snobuster also are well-liked; some models, however, kids find difficult to take on and off, while others are not waterproof.

Sneakers or hiking boots. Nike, New Balance, Merrell, and Keen are some recommended brands for walking shoes. Shoes should be “athletic” versus “casual.”

2. For Rainy Weather: Oakiwear makes awesome “Dry Tyke Rain Pants,” though right now they seem to be out of stock. I’ll wait to wax poetic about them until they are back in stock. Another very popular choice is the L.L. Bean Discovery Rain Jacket & Pants. These are even lighter weight, are still waterproof, and very flexible. They are not as sturdy as Oakiwear, but are much sturdier than they look.

Proceed with caution: At our site, students often choose to wear rain pants without a jacket when it is not raining, because the grass will get so wet with dew. Although the one piece Tuffo Muddy Buddy looks convenient, the material is stiff, scratchy, and loud, and children often become too hot. Some children with Muddy Buddies resist putting them on, though conversely we have one child who would wear it all of the time if she could. If your child has any sensory sensitivities, check out the Oakiwear Trail Suit, which is not noisy.

When buying other brands, what to look for: Yes, you need to buy the pants, too. Look for a set with material that is waterproof and flexible (“windpants” are not waterproof), hooded, and long enough. If your child has difficulty bending his elbows, the hood doesn’t actually cover his head, or a short torso sheds water onto inner clothing, don’t buy it. Although we have yet to try them, pants by Rainy Dayz of Oregon and tops and bottoms by JoJo Maman BeBe look promising.

3. For Cold Weather: Snow bibs & a jacket will receive a lot of use at school! One favorite is the Columbia Toddler Buga Set. This Columbia Set has an outgrow system and a good 3 in 1 jacket, and is super durable; other Columbia sets, however, have been a disappointment, so check reviews first. The similar Bugaboo jacket and even heftier Whirlibird would both be good bets by Columbia.

What to look for: You are looking for waterproof and warmth without too much bulk. Companies that temperature rate their clothing do so for a reason: Keep in mind that we go out in temperatures as low as 0 degrees Fahrenheit, which is much colder than freezing! “Puffer jackets” and other non-waterproof jackets are commonly found in stores, but when it’s 35 degrees and raining, they’re simply not adequate. If you want to make use of a puffer that your child already has, pair it with a soft shell raincoat that fits over the puffer, a heavy-weight fleece that fits under the puffer, and make sure all three items make it to school daily in the winter.

Other great bets: The Oakiwear Matching Snow Set has proven it’s waterproofness and has a great hood, but the snow pants can be confusing for a child to put on by himself. Burton and Obermeyer brand items are generally very high quality and worth getting if you can find them on sale; I especially appreciate the bright and visible colors that are often available. Once you get out of the toddler sizes, a lot more choice is generally available, such as REI Timber Mountain Jacket.

About one-pieces: Children who get cold easily or are very small may need a one-piece snow suit to stay warm, as these tend to trap body heat more efficiently for the bulk. Use the same guidelines listed above to shop. Winterkids.com is one place to find what you are looking for.

Mittens/Gloves: Purchase the smallest mittens that will comfortably fit your child. School favorites are: Obermeyer Gauntlet Mittens and Columbia toddler mittens. These type of mittens are waterproof and insulated. For children who constantly take off their mittens, Snow Stopper mittens are the best bet; the fabric arm of the mitten can get wet and chill your child, so it’s best to have a back up pair with these mittens. Very small children may need to wear a pair of fleece or wool mittens under an insulated set.

4. For Fair Weather: Gnats can get active on our playground, so all children should bring a brimmed hat with them. When we make forest trips, bright colors are a must; no particular brands are recommended.

5. Shopping for Low Cost: Yes, You Could Spend A TON of money to outfit your child, and get it done pretty quickly. But it can be worth shopping around. What’s the least amount of money you could realistically expect to outfit your child for, and still meet the requirements? Plan to budget $100 – $200 so there’s no surprises, and even more if you’re in a hurry. Here’s a quick theoretical shopping spree right now:

If you’ve got a lot more time than money and spread out your looking over time, you can find more at Goodwill and save even more. It pays to plan ahead, but you can potentially recoup some of the cost of the items by reselling them at a later date. Another tip for saving money: Clothing in “girl” colors seems to go for less, so yes, you can score those $17 bogs boots brand new if you don’t mind the pink.

]]>http://www.mayapple.org/outdoor-clothing-at-the-mayapple-school/feed/0Are You Afraid of Play?http://www.mayapple.org/are-you-afraid-of-play/
http://www.mayapple.org/are-you-afraid-of-play/#commentsWed, 22 Feb 2017 02:16:25 +0000http://www.mayapple.org/?p=666Time and time again, research has come down firmly on the side of play in Read More ...

]]>Time and time again, research has come down firmly on the side of play in early childhood. We have arrived at the most common sense of truths: to live a self-actualized, whole life, children play. To learn and grow, children play. The ocean cannot do without salt and the children cannot do without play.

But, somehow, this isn’t the answer we adults want. Play? This joyful, wonderful, magical thing is what is responsible for the cognitive growth and physical health of my child? That’s the answer? That can’t be! After all, children like play too much. In fact, you couldn’t get a child to stop playing if you tried, at least not for long! Also, on the surface it might seem simple, but how do you measure play? It’s much easier to measure what letter sounds my child knows and how high he can count. Now, those are things I can really help my child learn! And everyone knows that those are the things that will help my child succeed later on in “real” school, right? Oh, I’ll still let him “play” sometimes, when he needs a “break” from “real learning.”

Whoa! Let’s take a deep breath. We, as a society, need one. If you’ve ever followed the train of thought above, even just once, you’re not alone. We’ve all been there.

Research supports play based learning in the early childhood classroom. But we live in a society where embracing this research can be scary for parents. When was the last time I heard “I know that learning through play and projects is important, but are students really getting the basics?” I hear this, or something like it, all of the time. And when these parents say “basics,” they mean reading, writing, arithmetic, and other “academic” skills. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m absolutely in favor of seeking a program that offers experiences in a healthy balance of content areas, from literacy to the arts. I can point to the materials on our shelves and explain each one’s purpose, whether for the development of numeracy, geometry, the arts, literacy, science, sensory, or social-emotional skills. I can give an overview of our daily schedule, highlighting times when the skills or ideas they are asking about are most often practiced.

But when was the last time I heard, “I saw during circle time that students get to practice pre-reading, writing, and numeracy skills like counting, rhyming, singing, graphing, responding to questions, tracing letters, and matching beginning letter sounds. But how do I know that students are getting the basics?” And when they mean basics, they are talking about the actual basics, ones based on the learners themselves and not the content areas, basics that are abundantly present in children’s play: dispositions for learning such as creativity, persistence, belonging, well-being, initiative, responsibility, and building relationships as knowledge and skills increase—learning how to learn and taking ownership. This is the much more important question, and the one that people should be asking, as these real “basics” are harder to observe in a short period of time. Yet I’ve never had anyone ask me this or any variation of it.

Why is that? Is it because we’re all just a little bit afraid? We ignore our own memories, observations of our own child, recent research—all in favor of fear. We feel justified; after all, isn’t it logical to think, “I’m a successful adult. I want my child to be a successful adult. Play is extra for me and therefore it’s extra for my child.”

We do this because we want what’s best for our child. We want to give him or her the “edge” that will reverse the downward socio-economic trend of today’s middle class families, and jettisoning play is what the other families are doing to get ahead. The irony of all of this is, of course, that in trying to do what is best for our child, by sidelining play we do just the opposite.

There’s a saying that people are only afraid of that which they do not understand. If we seek to understand the true impact and importance of play, we won’t be afraid to protect its presence in our child’s life.

…because the end result of my children’s education is not only to be filled with knowledge, but to be self-actualized people, “who cannot only think, who can feel, who are concerned about others, who can develop and utilize all their potentials as persons.” (C.H. Patterson)

…because research shows that play is correlated with better physical and mental health, better social bonds, and even better test scores. Play improves creativity, problem solving, conceptual thinking, short and long term cognitive development, language and literacy, executive functioning, socialization, coping and emotional regulation, and motor skills. New research continually expands on these benefits. I can honor the wisdom, time, and expense of these wise adults who were able to rediscover what the children already know.

…because there is no play vs. learning dichotomy. Young children learn best through play. Children can have both play and learning. For the young, the terms “play” and “toy” mean what “work” and “materials” means to the adult.

…because even though I am an adult and I do not need to play the way children do, my heart remembers the child’s heart. And the child’s heart cannot do without play.

]]>http://www.mayapple.org/are-you-afraid-of-play/feed/0Recipe for Dramatic Play Part II & IIIhttp://www.mayapple.org/recipe-for-dramatic-play-part-ii-iii/
http://www.mayapple.org/recipe-for-dramatic-play-part-ii-iii/#commentsSat, 04 Feb 2017 15:47:45 +0000http://www.mayapple.org/?p=597Our fire truck has been at the heart of hours of pretend play in our Read More ...

]]>Our fire truck has been at the heart of hours of pretend play in our classroom. In fact, there isn’t a single child in our classroom that hasn’t spent some quality make-believe time in there. There’s more to this truck than meets the eye, and in the next few posts, I’d like to share just what that “more” is. Not into fire trucks? Don’t worry. This recipe yields creative, imaginative, dramatic play no matter what the subject matter is.

planning, communicating, and evaluating pretend play roles and scenarios

Teachers help students set the stage and effectively use or find props to enhance their dramatic play and communicate to others what they are doing. At its core, pretend play is essentially a literacy activity. Speaking, listening, writing, and body movement can be important methods of communication during pretend play, and props can be added to that list. When children play pretend, they substitute one item for another. One item becomes another in the minds of the players, even though it physically does not change. For example, an oatmeal canister with a spigot on the top IS a fire extinguisher in the minds of the players, even though really it is still an oatmeal canister. The symbolic imagery and logic building used in pretend play is very similar to the skills students use to understand that the symbols we know as the alphabet actually stand for certain sounds. A successful game of pretend play is all about communication, and props can help.

The most sophisticated props are actually the least fancy. The preschooler pretending a log is a baby is using a much more sophisticated thought process than the preschooler who is using a life-sized, life-like, plastic baby doll with movable limbs to stand in for a baby. Pretend play beginners often need fancier props that really do look like the real item, while pretend play experts can often make greater leaps in what they can use to stand as a symbol for something else. Since The Mayapple School is a multi-age and multi-ability classroom, we like to have props that cover the whole spectrum, from life-like to totally symbolic.The tires on our truck are actual truck tires, but the entire engine is symbolized by one coiled gray hose.

All of the students need to know what the props are, which means that the students need to be the ones to make the props. The more symbolic the prop, the more necessary this is. If teachers had stayed after school one day to put together the truck, then told the children what each part was, some of the children would forget. Yes, the truck would still be played with and the children would likely have been delighted upon arrival that morning. But would the truck have become REAL, the way it is now? Probably not. Yes, it’s taken weeks for us, as a class, to build this truck. But working together on our common goal has only helped our classroom community grow.

Teachers help students plan, communicate, and evaluate their pretend play roles and scenarios on the road to pretend play independence. (Yes! Metacognition. Even preschoolers are doing it!)

Yes, I absolutely believe that preschoolers should be given opportunities to play without adult interference and prompting. There are entire mornings where students enact a pretend play scenario in the fire truck, and no teacher helps the play along or even attends to it beyond keeping an eye on the action for rules and safety purposes, which may require only the briefest of interruptions.

However, it is also appropriate to deliberately teach and practice pretend play skills to students during the pretend play. We do this intentionally each week in what we call our “Play Together Game,” which I’ll be writing about on The Mayapple blog in the future. During these play sessions, teachers record the action and briefly review it before the next play session. Then, students decide what they would like to do differently or the same. Teachers “time out” the game if needed, to review or learn certain rules or play techniques. Beyond safety rules, some of the richest skills we deliberately teach are: watching play to figure out what is already happening, so student can enter play in a way that enriches it instead of disturbing it; saying “yes, and” to keep play going; and allowing oneself to be “caught” or other struggle or problem to develop, and then working to solve it. Teachers also encourage student narration by asking questions about student actions and props. At the end of the play session, each child has the opportunity to say what they liked or didn’t like about their role in the play.

Enforce the expectation or rule that each child gets to choose his or her own role in the pretend play scenario. If one of your more timid preschoolers voices that she wants to be the siren, but another child shouts, “No. I’m the siren. You have to be someone who catches on fire,” the teacher needs to step in and help them figure out how they both can be the siren if they can’t figure it out by themselves. Agreeing to the demands of another child is not always a bad thing, and in fact pretend play usually does hold a lot of give-and-take. But when a child’s role is dictated by another rather than self-chosen, she takes much less ownership over the play scenario and has less incentive to effectively use her pretend play skills or even to play at all. All children then lose out.

At The Mayapple School, we believe that pretend play is at the heart of the magic of childhood. Children need to play and cannot be stopped from seeking out play because it is necessary for proper development of the whole child, such as in areas like literacy, self-control, building empathy, problem solving, and more.

What about you? How do you facilitate pretend play in your classroom or at home? Post a comment to share.

Our fire truck has been at the heart of hours of pretend play in our classroom. In fact, there isn’t a single child in our classroom that hasn’t spent some quality make-believe time in there. There’s more to this truck than meets the eye, and in the next few posts, I’d like to share just what that “more” is. Not into fire trucks? Don’t worry. This recipe yields creative, imaginative, dramatic play no matter what the subject matter is.

Our recipe has three parts:

building background knowledge

setting the stage and effectively using and making props

planning, communicating, and evaluating pretend play roles and scenario

For great dramatic play, we want students to have strong background knowledge, or relevant information about the play scenario. In this case, that means all of the children know what a fire truck is for; what an actual fire truck looks like, feels like, and sounds like; and what the role of the fire fighters are. Teachers helped students build background knowledge over a period of time during our Truck Study. Strong background knowledge means that students have a wealth of knowledge and experiences to draw from that enriches and lengthens their play. As multiple aspects of the subject matter become known to students, their play also becomes multi-dimensional.

Field Trips or Field Study:We arranged for a real fire engine to come and visit us, along with volunteer fire fighters. Children heard the sirens and saw the lights flash. They looked over all the parts of the fire engine. Children touched the hose, watched water pour out of a valve, and attempted to lift the heavy oxygen masks. They tried on the heavy fire fighter coat and helmet.

Since not all students were able to be at school on the day of the visit, we also built background knowledge by reading books about fire trucks. Teachers took video during the fire truck visit, which we replayed to students. One day, we also watched videos that we found online. (Very short 2 – 4 minute clips. The Mayapple School is an advocate for reducing screen time for very young children.)

Topic concepts can be absorbed by preschoolers independently. But, learning about the topic together as a group ensures that the preschoolers have a larger pool of shared experiences to draw from. For example, during our Truck Study, we also went on a field trip to a Rescue Squad, where we learned a lot about ambulances. In the bay of the Rescue Squad, we found a fire fighter’s uniform. Students had questions about why the fire fighter’s uniform was at the Rescue Squad and not at the fire house, and were attentive as the Captain gave an explanation. Consequently, in pretend play the students sometimes enact the scenario of a fire fighter performing EMT duties, and all of the students understand what is going on. Nobody has to stop play and say, “hey, we’re fire fighters, why are we fixing a broken leg?” They all already know.

Stay tuned for next week’s blog post to read about the next parts of our recipe!

]]>There’s a truck in our classroom. It’s a fire truck. It has four truck tires, a steering wheel, on-off switches for the water pump, hoses and pumps, water valves, an engine, pedals, two seats (and sometimes more), an oxygen mask, a roof, a door, sirens and lights, a fire extinguisher, a water tank, a ladder, and even its very own gas pump.

Ok, I’ll admit that the fire extinguisher is made out of a oatmeal canister covered in red construction paper with a garden spigot duct-taped to the top. In fact, the whole truck is pretty much kept together with duct tape. We used an entire roll of duct tape, and we’re pretty proud of the results.The ladder can actually be climbed on, at least if you weigh 50 pounds or less, which I find perfectly acceptable for something made out of sticks and baling twine. Also, it’s for a truck that will only be putting out imaginary fires (Shh! Don’t tell anyone, but it’s just pretend.)

Though, you could be forgiven for forgetting that our truck isn’t “really real”. Our fire truck is the Velveteen Rabbit of fire trucks. The Mayapple School students get in that truck and go put out fires with all of the professionalism they can muster. Sometimes they even give CPR if the ambulance doesn’t get there first. They’ve turned that truck into REAL, and anyone who remembers their own childhood can see the magic at work. (Though the way that seven or eight little preschoolers can squeeze into about 10 square feet of space without fighting might just be the real magic that is going on. It doesn’t always happen… but when it does, they don’t even fight over the one fire fighter costume that we have.)

The best games of “Let’s pretend” happen when a group of children all suspend their state of disbelief in the same way. They all come to the same agreement about what objects stand for which other objects, what the purpose of their play is, and which roles people have.

Teachers can’t play “Let’s Pretend,” for students. Only the student can do the work to get there. But, teachers can facilitate it. In the next blog posts coming up, I’ll share some techniques we’ve used at The Mayapple School to facilitate hours of pretend play in our classroom. I’ll post about:

building background knowledge

setting the stage and effectively using and making props

planning, communicating, and evaluating pretend play roles and scenarios

My assistant and I have been trying out some new techniques in facilitating pretend play, keeping records along the way. She’s joked that it makes her feel like an anthropologist studying a secret civilization. There is a surprising amount of depth in children’s pretend play, and many researchers believe it enables children to learn important executive functioning skills in addition to social skills and creativity. We’re definitely big believers of protecting the child’s space and right to play over at The Mayapple School. I hope you’ll check back with us as we explore this topic further.

]]>Every fall the walnut tree across the creek drops a couple of walnuts onto our playground. But this year, we got very lucky when our Wednesday morning volunteer, Scarlett Williams, brought in an entire bag of black walnuts.

Black walnut trees are ubiquitous in the Southern Applachian mountains, and seem to evoke one of two reactions—euphoric appreciation of this seasonal delicacy, or unbridled disgust at the lawn-blighting fruits.

A black walnut has three parts: the sweet white nutmeat at the very center, the hard, wrinkly shell covering it, and on the very outermost part, the larger green (turning black) husk. Scarlett’s excitement about all parts of this lovely nut was easily taken up by the students.

First, Scarlett set up a nut cracking station- a flat rock for laying the nut upon and a rough one for smashing down upon the first. It didn’t take long for students to run up to ask Scarlett “What are you doing?” In general, smashing things will draw in a crowd of preschoolers. But smashing something that you could then eat? It was completely irresistible.

Scarlett showed the students how to roll or peel off the outer husk, to ready the nut for smashing. Once smashed, we searched for and ate the white meat inside. Delicious!

Once tired of smashing, we had a good collection of husks. It was time to make paint. Students gathered the husks, placed them in a pot, and then added some creek water. A stick was our stirring spoon. Paint!

After a search for paintbrushes that unearthed sticks, leaves, and pine needles, we were ready to test the paint. It’s always interesting to watch children paint, and today was no exception. No one complained at having only one color of paint. They were overjoyed just to have made their own. Experimenting with different “brushes” brought all the variety required.

By now, you’ve probably guessed which side of “love it or leave it” that we fall on over here at The Mayapple School. We loved our morning of Black Walnuts, and we loved our volunteer, Scarlett, for sharing the experience with us.

If you’ve fallen in love with the Black Walnut and the natural learning opportunities it provides, I’d love to hear your story. If you’re just getting started exploring, use precaution to keep little hands safe and remember that the nut will stain fabric as well as paper.